Academia Roofing & Attics

In the summer of 2009 I noticed this roofer in my area completing work for a neighbour who was pleased about the work quality being done there .The roofer owner then came to my home that afternoon , showed me the product he recommended , we agreed on a price. and he and his staff came on time and did an excellent job .

Some years ago we faced a significant problem with a leaky roof at a home at our golf facility. Where a 3 story high turret met the roof of the main building, a design flaw resulted in snow accumulating and a very heavy load of water passing over a difficult valley.Leaking occured over several years and we had several contractors attempt repairs with no success.

It seemed no one wanted to look at a small, unimportant job such as this- not to mention the danger of the height at which the repair had to be made.

Gordon Bayley and his partner Joseph Furlong at Academia Roofing took it on with confidence. After careful consideration, they decided to make changes to the roof pitch to redirect the water. This required some tricky re-building which, I'm sure, took a great deal more effort than they at first imagined.

After so many others had tried and failed, I'm pleased to report that they were successful with the work and after 5 years we remain leak free.

Thanks so much, Academia Roofing!

Craig Evans, Pheasant Run Golf Club

We had ice forming on our eaves, causing all kinds of damage to the exterior of our house. Had a couple of roofers look at the problem and could not get a satisfactory response to what was causing the problem. Was introduced to Gord Bailey by our contractor. He came to our house, went up to the attic and we found that the roof was not properly insulated. We also found that part of our attic was warm and part was cold. This was causing the ice to form on our eaves. We came up with a plan to reinsulate our roof with R61 batts, replace our facia with an aluminium product, put in new attic fans and replace the eaves. We did this over the winter and 4 years later we have not had any more problems with icicles. We have found that our house is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. We have had a substanial savings in our gas bills and Electric bills because of the added insulation. Gord and his crew were very neat, cleaned up the mess. Gord was very professional. I would recommend his services any time.

We first met Gord Bailey when he was replacing the roof of our neighbour's house across the street. The first thing we noticed was that the job was taking several days as opposed to other roofers we have seen on the street who complete a roof in a day. We were surprised at how quietly the crew worked and how they cleaned up meticulously at the end of each day. And what was especially pleasing to us was how great the roof looked when it was finished since we have to look at it every day. The shingles have a thick, high quality look to them and are perfectly colour coordinated to the colour of the bricks.

What immediately impressed us about Gord was his knowledge. We got an education about roofing as he walked us around the neighbourhood pointing out various issues on other roofs. After a thorough inspection of our roof he gave us a detailed estimate in writing and spent a great deal of time explaining the quality of his materials, emphasizing that he only used CertainTeed LanMark 30 brand shingles which have a 30 year life span. He suggested the “heather blend” shingle and further recommended replacing the original cream coloured eavestroughs with brown wider sized eavestroughs as it resulted in a richer look. Since we were well aware of what some of our neighbours had paid, we knew his wasn’t the cheapest price, but the difference in quality was evident. Ultimately we contracted Academia and they did our roof and one other down the street. The job was completed very much to our satisfaction with the same attention to detail as we had witnessed earlier.

About six months later we heard noises on the roof and looked out and there was the truck. As Gord explained they had come back to replace the vents as there had been a manufacturers defect in the ones he had installed. Excellent customer service in our opinion!

Four years later we contracted Academia again to clear the soffits in the attic, add more insulation and to install a skylight. Gord recommended that we replace the vents again as he had found a superior product being Maximum vents. This time we had to wait a considerable length of time before he could start the job, although he kept in touch with us during the wait, and since it wasn’t an emergency, we were patient. Once again the job was completed in a thorough and professional manner.

It is now more than six years since Gord completed our roof and it still looks like new with no signs of fading or aging.

Based on the quality of his work, his professionalism and his follow up customer service, we never hesitate to recommend Gord and his company.

We first contacted Gord at Academia Roofing one evening several years ago, after we noticed water damage on the fireplace chimney. The next day a two man crew arrived and replaced the flashing around the chimney. Gord mentioned that he would credit a portion of the invoiced amount towards any future re-shingling that we would have them do. In 2009 we decided that we could no longer ignore the sad state of our roof and we contacted four roofers for estimates. Two simply came by, took some measurements on the ground and sent in their estimates. One took the time to show us samples the metal roofing that they sold before they gave us their price. Gord checked out the roof, the attic, the venting(the dead power vent and an improperly placed bathroom vent a previous renovator had installed), the soffits and the eavestroughs. He stressed the need for adequate insulation and venting in the attic. We discussed,at some length, the options we had available to us in terms of materials and methods especially in regards to the portion of the house that had low slope - essentially a flat - roof. He took the time to satisfactorily answer any questions that arose. The quality of the workmanship however was clearly never one of the options that was open to negotiation. His estimate was not the lowest but easily inspired the greatest confidence and it was a simple decision to have Academia do the work. The job was completed in a timely manner, at the cost quoted(including a credit for the work previously done to the chimney flashing) and the layers of previous shingles and other debris were all well disposed of. I have already made a note to call Gord and schedule a re-shingling in 30 years.

Academia Roofing of Mt Albert came to the rescue after two botched jobs by a home improvement company located in Ajax, Carroll Roofing and Best Value roofing - both operating under the umbrella of Lifestyle Sunrooms and Windows. Indeed, we turned to Academia Roofing for a solution to our roofing and ventilation problems. Our twice shingled roof and "tuned up" skylights done by Carroll and Best Value were leaking in spite of several visits by the installers. Some calking here and there on such visits had not solved anything. There was also a ventilation issue mainly because ours was a “low pitch” roof . Although of good quality, the wrong shingles had been used and a ridge vent was inadequate for the this type of roof. When Gordon from Academia came, he listened to our predicament, took a look at the structure, discussed several alternative solutions, provided us with an estimate for each. We decided to book his services for the job which started on time a few weeks later. There was much to be done. The roof had to be entirely stripped, the damaged boards removed along with the old insulation and dispose of all the rubbish in a large bin. Then some of the boards were replaced, new insulation installed, new sheets of plywood placed on the entire surface which was also covered with both moisture barrier and fire resistant sheets completed with heavy duty drip metal edges around the perimeter of the roof. The final layer was done with rolls of "Bakor" material which resembles thick sturdy shingles. It was put in place with special glue and a process called flaming which requires much skill. In the process, the garage inner wall was also insulated and the brick work on the chimney had also to undergo some repairs. Several special vents and two new skylights were also installed. However, while doing the skylights, it became apparent that the crew lacked experience in their installation because when installed they lacked proper geometrical alignment with the light tunnel in the ceiling. Several adjustments had to be made in order to obtain a correct look. New eavestroughs, downspouts, fascia and soffits were also installed along with serial recessed flood lights under the soffit. The regular crew proved to be customer friendly, fairly efficient and most of the time punctual. They promptly answered any queries. However, some of the temporary workers turned out to be quite something else in the absence of adequate supervision. They were noisy and somehow reckless when bringing up material on the roof and just dumping it without any care, causing much noise and vibrations. Their language was also frequently inappropriate, using too many swear words when talking to each other. In spite of these minor nuisances, the end product turned out to be to our satisfaction, for we have not noticed any problems since its completion in 2009. The house is now much more energy efficient in both summer and in winter. It is not only more comfortable, but it also brought down the cost of both heating and cooling. The skylights are fine, and we appreciate much the remote provided to us by Gordon to open and close one of them. Furthermore, if left open it closes automatically when it senses rain. On a slightly negative note, we were a little upset when Gordon did not respond to repeated requests for a final receipt stating that the bill had been fully paid. Gordon had also failed to inform us about the government energy grant available for such improvements, so we missed out on this one. Despite some shortcomings such as these ones, we would certainly recommend Academia Roofing for peace of mind about the work done. Overall, we were very satisfied, and so far their work withstood the test of time.

Our home was re-roofed almost 7 years ago by Academia and still appears to be in excellent condition. After a long and detailed process, involving many estimates, questions and reviews of various roofing contractors, Academia Roofing was selected to remove and re-shingle the roofing on our home. Academia Roofing and Gordon Bailey proved to be a very knowledgeable tradesman and provided a very thorough assessment and detailed estimate of the work required. Gord’s quotation was definitely not the cheapest estimate but his attention to detail showed. Our job was carried out on-time by a very skilled crew under Gord’s supervision. The job site was clean and all refuse was removed to my satisfaction.
We did encounter a very strange occurrence in our garage during our first winter after our roof was replaced. Upon returning home after a very severe and windy snowstorm in January, we noticed an accumulation of snow below the roof vent that was installed in our garage. My first thought upon seeing the snow inside my garage caused me a bit of concern. I immediately went into the house and opened my attic hatch to see if the same thing happened in the attic and sure enough a mound of snow had formed under each attic vent.
I promptly called Academia and spoke with Gord and explained what appeared to be happening in our attic with the roof vents. This was a Sunday afternoon and within a few hours he appeared at our door to inspect the issue. He was very concerned and unsure as to the cause but said he would correct the issue. The next day Gord had the vent manufacturer contact me to arrange for them to see the issue in my attic. I did my own detective work and noticed that the vents seemed to have a manufacturing or design defect that allowed for snow to get up and under the actual cap into the attic. After speaking with Gord, he realized that the vents were in fact defective and that he had quite a number of other customers with the same defective vents. He immediate sent Joe to replace all of the defective vents with a different manufacturer and design. This was all done within a few days of my encountering the problem. No other problems have been encountered since that day.
That’s the type of service rarely seen today and I would not hesitate to recommend Academia Roofing to anyone needing a roofing job done.

When I purchased my 1930's home in mid-town Toronto, I was not aware that the flat-roofed extension in the back was a problem waiting to happen. When I finally had visible leaking, I started looking for roofers who could help. I was surprised to find very few roofing companies in Toronto who were able or willing to take on my flat roof. In the end, I did manage to get a few competitive bids, all within $2000 of each other. Ultimately I went with Gord at Academia because of his obvious deep knowledge on the topic of roofing and flat roofs in particular.

Gord was able to communicate the processes and materials that were required to carry out the job and to answer all my questions without pause or BS - he will talk your ear off to be sure, but he's honest and knowledgeable. If you are the kind of home owner who wants to be educated before moving forward, Gord is your guy. Furthermore, Academia provided a detailed quotation that clearly stated the scope of work and the responsibilities of the contractor. The job was carried out on-time, on-budget, and under Gord's continual supervision. It was clear to me that he was proud of the job his company was doing. When I did have a minor problem, Academia's response was swift and apologetic.

I think a lot of home owners are mistaken in looking for the best price only. When it comes to some trades such as electricians and roofers, don't mess around. A botched job can have huge costs down the road. I would definitely recommend Academia to my friends and family.

We have a century home with very large and detailed crown trim on the soffits/fascia and Gord of Academia Roofing was very knowledgeable in suggesting the best way to handle the roofing job. They were not the least expensive option but we trusted them to handle it. They were very professional, and did a very good job. Gord managed his people very well and the project was done on time and on budget.

I had a leak in my roof one rainy night. I called a company that offered emergency services, got their night answering service, which advised that the owner of the company would be paged. He didn't call me until noon the next day. I called another company that offered emergency services and they came out and did a fix, charged me money for it, and the roof was leaking again while I could still see their taillights. I called Academia at around 7 a.m. and the phone was answered by Gord personally, and he talked me through punching a hole in the ceiling to save the drywall, and his partner Joe and another fellow were here soon after. They discovered a roof in terrible repair and they did a temporary fix (in the rain). It held for a bit and then started leaking again. Gord CALLED ME to see if it was holding, and when he found out it wasn't, Joe came back right away to tarp the whole thing for the night. It worked and I actually got some sleep that night. First thing the next day (in dryer weather) he was back to do a more thorough temporary repair. They told me candidly what needs to be done in terms of permanent repairs and explained, at length, what the problem is, and how to fix it. Gord insists that I get quotes from other roofers. In my opinion, these are guys that you can trust to make sure that the job is done right, no matter what it takes, and on top of all that they gave me a real break on the price (I think they felt badly for me that I had to pay that other guy). Following Gord's advice, I should probably get quotes from other roofers before I get started on the permanent repair, but I have a feeling that I will use Academia even if they turn out to be a bit more expensive, because I KNOW that they will get it done right, and that I can count on them.